31 December 2014

Turns out, kitty doesn't like fireworks any more than thunderstorms. Also, our neighborhood sets off a lot of fireworks. I don't remember there being this many on the 4th of July. Maybe we weren't home for that?

A series of events has led to me sitting on the couch in a hoodie and pj pants this New Year's Eve with a glass of wine at one side and the kitty covered in a blanket on the other. Toot smoking a cigar on the back porch. It's cold out there otherwise I'd head out and toot with him. Speaking of, he just knocked on the glass door and wrote 'I -heart- you.' Or, the heart might have actually been a penis. Same thing?

Watching some NYE show on tv and I have no idea who half of these artists are. This piece of information pairs well with the scene I just described, huh?

Andy has been given the go-ahead to come home on Saturday. Except Chris won't be available until Tuesday to pick her up and apparently according to the trainer I'm not an acceptable option. Officially fucking offended. [to be honest I was torn between not wanting to drive all that way, and wanting to be there for the handover.] I might try to take that Tuesday off work, depending on my boss's mood.

Got about a million topics in my head, but this doesn't seem like the right time to pour them out.

27 December 2014

BALLEEERRR!!!!
This Christmas I got a total of 2 vacuums and I couldn't be happier. Andy, get your cute little dog butt back here because momma has new toys to try out! (It's estimated she will be finished with training around the 1st.)

Also making an appearance under the tree this year:

Kitchen Aid mixer. I may or may not have caressed it when I opened it. The kitchen counter layout is getting a makeover to ensure maximum perfect placement.

Gift certificate for a day spa. Facial, massage, pedicure... whatever I want. I plan on taking some days off soonish and starting them off right with some pampering. Thanks tooter muffin.

Wine glasses to replace the many, many that I have broken. These ones are sturdy and actually say on the box that they are break-resistant. The ultimate test begins...

A mini muffin pan that is built just right, and a cooling rack with no moving parts!

Pillow that is not flat. Hey, no more fighting over who has to take the lumpy pillow.

About 5 million pounds of candy.

A grand total of 4 days of family time this year. Two with mine (Christmas party counts), and 2 with his. Lots of wine and stuffing the face (and tummy meds- der). Also realizing that [everyone's] family is a little bit crazy? I was very glad to get home this afternoon and get some quiet time. Constant socialization is exhausting, man.

On the agenda tomorrow, the last day of this "vacation" that seemed to get away from me:
Checking stores for discount Christmas lights/ decor/ a pre-lit fake tree because the fresh ones seem to get more and more over-rated each year.
Taking down the existing Christmas decor. If it doesn't rain.
If it rains, we're going to get a Costco membership and take down Christmas inside. Or we might just lay around in our pjs. Bring on the new year!

*Actually, I was miserable the entire time. I would have gladly traded in all the gifts to skip Christmas this year. But, you gotta play the game and smile. Can't risk offending everyone, right?

21 December 2014

Last year I saw a neat idea that I thought I'd try for Christmas.
The idea is to give your hubs a gift on the 12 days leading up to Christmas, following the number theme. It was a huge hit, so it has become a tradition. This year my sister is doing it for her husband too.

12 Days of Christmas for Hubs

Day 1: Following last year's precedent, Day 1 is an ornament. Since we recently got a dog, I figured it would be a cute way to commemorate the new member of the family.

Day 2: Two bic lighters. We are forever searching for these lighters, even
though I think we have several. Two more should statistically make it easier to
find one! One for the coffee table, one for the bar, one for the grill, one for the kitchen...

Day 3: A 3-switch wall plate for the garage. He has mentioned several times
while walking by them in Home Depot, that he wished they carried one of the metal diamond ones for 3
switches. Well, they do-- online! This gift has probably gotten the best reaction out of every gift I've ever gotten him. He put it up right away.

Old and grody...

To shiny and new! And very manly. Clearly this garage belongs to a manly man.

Day 4: 4 Certificate frames. Certificates for USMC courses and other
achievements should not be laying on top of the desk. They should be displayed
and protected. There is no telling how long they'll take to actually hang on the wall, but it's a start!

Day 5: 5 Mios. Not really exciting, but he really loves these things and we usually have to make a
separate trip to the grocery store for them. Here you go, babe.

Day 6: A six-pack of Shiner beers. Same as last year. He figured this out and placed the entire thing, still wrapped, into the fridge in the morning. Then while I was still at work, he requested to open it early because, "he was thirsty." You don't mess with a
good thing.

Day 7: 7 scratch-offs. Seven is a hard number, and you really can't go wrong with scratch offs! He even won a couple of bucks. It was all very exciting.

Day 8: A pack of 8 cookies. These were opened before I got a picture of the wrapped gift.

Day 9: 9 packs of his favorite gum. It just so happened that he went to Costco last week and bought a huge pack of it, so now he's set. For a while.

Day 10: (We swapped day 10 and day 8 because we're rebels and we like to break the rules. And I was more excited about Day 10 than I was about Day 8.) Day 10 is a collage of 10 photos of cross-sectioned bullets.
Pretty cool and unique. Again, we'll see how long it takes to get it hung up on the wall.

Day 11: 11 ounces of candied pecans. Another sweet treat for the holidays. He was more excited about these than I thought he'd be, and ate about 6 ounces at once. He was also amused at how we incorporated the number theme into this one.

Day 12: A 12-pack of HEB's Houston Blend coffee. The man is obsessed. I told him they stopped making it so it would be a surprise, and he didn't quite believe me...